PREFACE. THE object of this book is to give a complete and accurate catalogue of the plants which have at any time been recorded to grow in Middlesex, either as natives or in a more or less completely naturalised state, to indicate the special localities where they have been found, and to trace the history of their discovery. The existence of many of these is attested only by records in scarce or little-known books, or by the original specimens preserved in old collections. As the amount of material relating to the subject is very large, much of our work has consisted in collecting and reducing into order the widely scattered records; and in this, though we cannot hope to have avoided all error, we hope that no blunders of magnitude have been committed or important facts overlooked. The Cryptogamia-with the exception of the Ferns and their allies-have, from want of material, been much less fully treated; lists of some of the Orders are given in the Appendix, but the Alga and lower Fungi have been entirely omitted. It is hoped that those who have made a special study of these plants will be induced to publish something more complete. The history of the earliest labourers in any scientific field has an exceptional interest. We who succeed to their labours cannot fail to appreciate the intelligence of men who, at a time with no past example, and little encouragement, laid the foundations of so much of our present knowledge. The Historical Sketch on pp. 363-400, drawn up partly from unpublished sources, contains biographies of several botanists of whom little has hitherto been known but the names, and may in part be regarded as supplementary to Dr. Pulteney's well-known Sketches of Botany. To the numerous correspondents who have helped us in the compilation of our material we offer our thanks. Those botanists to whom we are chiefly indebted are enumerated on p. 11; but the Rev. W. W. Newbould requires special mention here, for his care in helping to correct the proof-sheets. To the Hon. J. Leicester Warren for his help in the Rubi, to Mr. Worthington G. Smith for his list of Hymenomycetous Fungi, and to the Rev. James M. Crombie for his note on the Lichens, our acknowledgments are also due. The size of this volume may appear to be excessive in comparison with the importance of the subject treated in its pages; it has indeed considerably exceeded the bulk originally contemplated, but, with the exception of some localities which the peculiarities of the county seemed to render it desirable to put on record, there is, we believe, very little irrelevant matter; indeed, some care has been expended on concentrating the material. From those who have ever been occupied in endeavouring to estimate, each at its true value, the mass of alleged facts which go to make up a local Flora, we need scarcely ask for indulgence. We have, in all cases, endeavoured to be just to others as well as to ourselves. August, 1869. |